Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1280693 | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy | 2014 | 8 Pages |
•We fabricated CNTs/Al composite by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method.•Hydrogen generation rate increased with CNT content in Al matrix.•Hydrogen generation rate increased by large reaction area of porous structure.•CO-free, high purity hydrogen achieved from the hydrolysis of CNTs/Al composite.•3.5 g of the 5 vol.% CNTs/Al composite produced electricity at 10 A for 13 min.
Al matrix composites reinforced with 0–5 vol. % carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) to examine their hydrogen generation properties from the hydrolysis of Al in 10 wt. % NaOH solution at room temperature. The 5 vol. % CNTs/Al composite exhibits a maximum hydrogen generation rate of 120 ml/min g, which is about 6 times higher than that of Al without CNTs due to the synergetic effects of the porous Al matrix, which has a large reaction area and galvanic corrosion between the Al matrix and the CNTs. The hydrogen gas generated from the hydrolysis of the CNTs/Al composite has high purity without any production of undesirable CO. PEMFC produced electricity at 10 A and 0.73 V for 13 min, with hydrogen generated from the hydrolysis of 3.5 g–5 vol. % CNTs/Al composite. The CNTs/Al composite was effectively used as a hydrogen source for PEMFC.